Money Moral Dilemma: Is it wrong to make money from clothing I'm morally opposed to wearing?

cheerful

There are two moral questions here:

a) Is it right to buy cheap from a charity shop then sell for a profit? The answer is a simple "No".  The best remedy is to sell it yourself and give the proceeds (less the £1.50 you paid for it) to the charity shop.

b) Is it right to promote the wearing of silk (against your morals) by keeping the item in use rather than destroying it?  The answer is to weigh the "wrong" of its continued use against the "wrong" of destroying usable clothes.  If someone wants this item they might buy it new which would be a greater promotion of silk manufacture and use.  You will have to decide for yourself.

A while ago I mistakenly bought a frozen pizza with meat in it (I am vegetarian).  I could not return it so I gave it to a friend who is no so well off and eats meat - I considered that throwing away food was a greater harm.

Saetana

This is a dilemma? 

Bonnypitlad

I’m a vegetarian and recently bought a pie which I later discovered was a meat pie made by Mrs Lovett
Was I wrong to sell it to my vegan friend?, She keeps asking me for more

keithyno.1

So let's get this straight - you won't wear a garment made of silk because you're morally opposed to the way silk is made, but you're considering making a handsome profit on it??! That sounds two-faced to me.

If you're THAT morally opposed to silk then send it for recycling (if there's a facility for silk clothing). Otherwise destroy it, thereby ensuring one less silk garment is in circulation casting a dark shadow over all of humanity. After all, the world needs saving from silk. It's the devil incarnate, isn't it?

Brie

Not sure how you could buy something not knowing it was silk. I always feel the fabric to check as I want silk rather than polyester.

But option one is to take it back and ask for a refund. Option two is to simply give it back and let them sell it on.

That you bought something you don't want for no matter what reason is up to you to resolve.

I got a beautiful (admittedly silk) scarf from a charity shop. Cost me £30 which is more than I've ever paid for a scarf. Turned out it was actually worth nearly £300. I'll give the charity the difference should I ever sell it. Or simply give it back for them to resell.

RFW

cheerful said:

There are two moral questions here:

a) Is it right to buy cheap from a charity shop then sell for a profit? The answer is a simple "No".  The best remedy is to sell it yourself and give the proceeds (less the £1.50 you paid for it) to the charity shop.

I thought it was just me! Not bothered about the ethics of shafting a charity but concerned about the content.

Donate it back to the charity shop, tell them it's worth £15 and then reap the moral rewards.

If they've checked the value then they've already considered selling it, so the moral point is relatively moot.

JamesyMac

No matter what you do, you’re going to have no impact on the cause you’re talking about.

You could sell it for £1.50 if that makes you feel righteous, or you could just get your £15 and help with you money worries.

Bonnypitlad

I won’t sleep tonight 
I wish you hadn’t told me
In my naivety I hadn’t considered the suffering of the silkworm 
Is it as bad as collecting bear bile?
In the 80’s I threw paint over a mink jacket, my Sister has never forgiven me 

sienew

cheerful said:

There are two moral questions here:

a) Is it right to buy cheap from a charity shop then sell for a profit? The answer is a simple "No".  The best remedy is to sell it yourself and give the proceeds (less the £1.50 you paid for it) to the charity shop.

I'd actually disagree with this. My mum worked at a charity shop and some of their best customers were resellers. Charity shops get so many donations that in many cases they are happy just to get a quick sale so the stuff is out of their way. I know near me many charity shops have limited the time/days you can donate things because they have had so many things donated since covid that they can't handle/process/store or sell it all. They don't care who buys it, an individual, a reseller or a company as long as it gets sold at the price they are asking for.

cheerful said:

There are two moral questions here:

a) Is it right to buy cheap from a charity shop then sell for a profit? The answer is a simple "No".  The best remedy is to sell it yourself and give the proceeds (less the £1.50 you paid for it) to the charity shop.

I thought it was just me! Not bothered about the ethics of shafting a charity but concerned about the content.

Donate it back to the charity shop, tell them it's worth £15 and then reap the moral rewards.

The charity shop will probably still sell it for the same price. Usually they'd rather sell it in a few days for £5 than keep it potentially weeks/months for £15. Prices in charity shops are almost always far less than the item would sell on eBay.

RFW

sienew said:I'd actually disagree with this. My mum worked at a charity shop and some of their best customers were resellers. Charity shops get so many donations that in many cases they are happy just to get a quick sale so the stuff is out of their way. I know near me many charity shops have limited the time/days you can donate things because they have had so many things donated since covid that they can't handle/process/store or sell it all. They don't care who buys it, an individual, a reseller or a company as long as it gets sold at the price they are asking for.

Probably true in this case but it does vary. Many charity shops have either their own Ebay store or a head office that does. They try and filter out the higher value items.